Over the years people have asked what event or events do we need to watch for as we anticipate the return of the Lord. Interestingly, according to Scripture, it is not a specific event, but a general attitude culturally and globally. In order to understand this attitude we need to examine scripture to get the picture that God is painting in His Word. I would start with Matthew 24:37-39, “But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark. And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” This passage speaks of the suddenness of the return. No one will know the day or hour, but will be occupied in the ordinary things of life. This passage reveals the carelessness and lack of watchfulness for His return. Those living at the time will be so busy with the “cares of this life” that the day of His return will … READ MORE

Healthy civilizations have recognized the critical role of fathers since ancient times. In the last verse of the Old Testament we are told, “An he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.” (Malachi 4:6). This wound to fathers is a wound of absence – emotional as well as physical. You can kill living organisms in two ways. You can smash it, or you can just leave it alone. In the souls of men, the weapon of destruction is shame. When dads don’t embrace, encourage, guide, value me, I must not be worth much.” A real man is real. He walks in truth, even when it costs his image of being in control. He wants to face and overcome3 his inadequacies, so he can fulfill his calling as a husband, father, worker, and citizen. The problem with missing min in the lives of young boys is that they then look to mom to fill the gap created, and then later grasps onto his wife. But no woman, no matter how present, loving, and helpful, can be a father. Today … READ MORE

Because God has given us a perspective on the future and we know that He will bring it to pass; Because of who the sovereign God is and what He does for His own, nothing can supersede hop in Him as a source of lasting joy. Those who hope in Him are able to endure the most difficult circumstances of this life by trusting in His plan even when it does not fit our own, after all no matter how uncertain this life seems, God always remains the same. A follower of Christ can look forward even to death with joy, because the Savior has fulfilled the death penalty for all who believe (1 Corinthians 15:54-55) All the glorious facets of Christian hope will be consummated when Jesus returns for His bride (1 Corinthians 1:8). While the believer’s hope will not be entirely complete until the time of that resurrection, the one who chooses to follow Christ possesses a genuine hope that will purify their lives, and thereby verify that they are true believers. Psalm 146:5-6 gives the believer reason to rest in their circumstances, “Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is … READ MORE